High school wrestling is an unusual team sport built around individual contests where sometimes your best just isn't enough. Case in point would be Conestoga Valley's 42-18 loss to state ranked Hempfield. "Hempfield is a strong, well-balanced team that is ranked in the top ten in PA," said head coach Trent Turner. "They were undefeated. We wrestled hard. We wrestled tough. We worked to make them earn it. But, in the end, our best on this night just wasn't enough to pull off the upset.

"We'll get back to work to get better. Our identity is not found on the scoreboard," he continued. "It's found in staying true to our team core values. As long as we're consistent with that, then the team will find success."

As the 42-18 final would indicate the Buckskins found the going on the mat difficult with just four wins on the night. Keaton Fischer highlighted the scoring with his OT victory at 145 over Reagan LeFevre, a state qualifier a year ago.

"Keaton wrestled a technically and tactically solid match and came out on top," Turner praised.

Jonathan Lopez also nabbed a standard decision, topping JJ Plaza, 6-2, at 189. Zander Rider picked up the easy forfeit win at 215 while Luke Morley rounded things out by sneaking a pinfall win over Zy McCain-Murray just inside the first period horn.

RIFLE

The rifle team split their two most recent matches, topping Ephrata on the 6th before falling to Manheim Central on the 11th.

Sierra Land paced the 490-489 win over the Mountaineers with her 99 while Ivan Shrom, Emily Russell and Grady Ray posted matching 98s. Edison Stauffer was the fifth scorer with a 97. A few days later Land was part of a trio of 97 shooters along with Stauffer and Cadence Fazekas with Hunter Kleckner posting the top score of 98. Ray finished out the top five in the 497-485 loss to Central with a 96.

SWIMMING

January 11th took the CV swim team to the Lititz Rec Center to battle Manheim Central in a Section Two affair. The Buckskins came home double winners thanks to a 109-45 result on the boy's side and a 74-65 victory on the girl's side.

Aidan Campbell powered the boys' with solo wins in the 200-freestyle and the 100-breaststroke while helping collect victories in the 200- and 400-freestyle relays. Connor Ludwig, Sam Milheim and Daniel Ivanchikov joined Campbell in the 200-free relay while Ludwig, Ashton Reese and Rome Lucchese took care of the other three legs in the 400-free relay. CV swept the relays with Isaiah Dentel, Ludwig, Reese and Ivanchikov enjoying victory in the 200-medley relay. The Buckskins tacked on four more solo wins, one each by Ludwig (100-freestyle), Reese (100-backstroke), Lucchese (500-freestyle) and Ivanchikov (50-freestyle).

Jordan Holmes was the catalyst on the girls' side, taking the 50-free and the 100-free while joining Ashton Heisey, Hollyn Helsel and Olivia Sowal for a 200-freestyle relay win. Sowal (200IM) and Nastia Ivanchikov (100-butterfly) accounted for the only two other solo wins for CV. The Lady Buckskins did add one more relay win with Hollyn Helsel, Ainslee Helsel, Cheyenne Plank and Ivanchikov taking the 400-freestyle relay.

BOWLING

CV's bowling team ended up on both sides of 7-0 finals, first by topping Lebanon on January 6th then by falling to Penn Manor on the 11th. Ryan Muckle led the way in the 852-625, 949-654, 745-679 and 2546-1958 pasting of Lebanon with a 563 series. Ethan Tardibuono added games of 202, 198 and 146 for his 546 series.

Josiah Casler ended up with a team high 629 series thanks to games of 202, 223 and 204 but it was not enough to allow the Buckskins to hang with Penn Manor leading to that 7-0 loss. Muckle nearly matched his Lebanon series, this time posting a 565 with games of 207, 177 and 181.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Chalk it up to a small sample size but two games into 2022, you could say that the new year is not a Lady Buckskin hoops fan. CV dropped a, 64-61, nailbiter on the road to Lebanon on the 10th before returning home on the 11th where Penn Manor dished out a 60-34 loss.

Against Lebanon, CV had four double digit scorers with Morgan Martin's 18 topping that list. Taylor Hehnly chipped in with 14, Rhiannon Henry added 11 while Ashley Cirilo rounded out the quartet with 10 points. Despite their combined 53 points Lebanon erased CV's 48-41 lead with a 23-13 run through the final frame, handing the Lady Buckskins the three-point loss.

No comeback was needed one night later as Penn Manor posted a 60-34 win. The Lady Comets opened a slim three-point edge after the opening frame before blowing the game open with a 37-14 rush over the second and third quarters. Seven Lady Buckskins cracked the box score but only Hehnly broke into double digits with a team high 14 points.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The boy's bball team also opened 2022 with a loss, falling to visiting Eastern York by a 55-48 final on January 8th. It was a tale of two halves for CV with the Buckskins jumping out to a 36-18 lead at halftime. The Golden Knights made some key adjustments at the break and rolled through the second half on a 37-12 tear, flipping the 18-point halftime cushion into a seven-point loss. Titus York netted a team high 17 points with Cameron Swinton adding 15 points in the loss.

Conestoga Valley took a few days off before heading to Millersville to face Penn Manor on the 11th. Griffen Rishell, with a game-high 23-point outburst, and Swinton, who poured in 21, helped push CV to a comfortable 64-43 win.